Magnolia Network President Talks Harnessing ‘Evolving’ Streaming Audience Amid Unscripted Slowdown

As unscripted TV execs and producers breathe their way through an industry slowdown, Magnolia Network president Allison Page has turned her attention towards harnessing the channel’s “evolving” streaming audience.

“I think of it not just as a contraction, but an evolution to whatever the new world will be — I don’t think we’re all the way there yet, but it’s clear that the methods and models of 10 years ago don’t work in the same way,” Page told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View series . “At HGTV, we could make 10 new pilots, and one or two of them would turn into series that came back again and again … It’s harder to build in linear now, with so much of a move to streaming.”

Whereas loyal home improvement fans know their go-to cable channels like the back of their hand, Page noted that while there’s still an interest in unscripted content on streaming, the network “certainly [has] not been immune” to the “very different consumer experience” of discovering content on streaming platforms, with Magnolia Network among the dozens of brands represented on Warner Bros. Discovery-owned Max.

Just as founders Chip and Joanna Gaines challenge their team to “keep evolving,” Page is keeping a careful eye on what Magnolia Network programming is resonating most with a streaming audience, while still staying true to the brand’s core.

“How people are watching and what they’re watching and where they’re watching is evolving,” Page said. “We continue to make a lot of the shows that people love and have found, in some ways, the linear audience … They love the ‘Fixer Upper’ library, and they love ‘Maine Cabin Masters’ and ‘Restoring Galveston.’ And then in streaming, that’s where some of our other shows, like ‘Lost Kitchen’ or ‘The Established Home’ and ‘Family Dinner,’ … have had a little more traction.”

With the goal of reaching “the broadest audience possible” on streaming rather than a key demographic on linear, Magnolia Networks recently launched a new fall slate, titled “Watch Together,” which will debut several new family-friendly unscripted shows this fall, including “Roller Jam” on Oct. 10, “Human vs Hamster” on Nov. 21 and “Second Chance Stage” on Thanksgiving.

“What we’ve tried to do with this new slate of shows is say, ‘Let’s broaden the subject matter, but let’s try to look at things that feel like it will be fun for families to watch together,'” Page said. “They’re not specifically targeted to kids or one specific demo, but it is something that we think families would enjoy watching together.”

Below, Page outlines the brand’s biggest challenges in getting through the slowdown, and shares her advice for young people entering the industry.

We’ve seen more creator-driven projects have success amid this slowdown. With Chip and Joanna at the forefront, how do you think you’re uniquely positioned to handle this time?
We’re not singularly focused on celebrities — it’s just everyday human stories. I think that resonates so broadly, and preparing and being ready to tell it in whatever form and again, wherever people want to see that. So we feel confident in an ability to find really compelling stories. I think the challenge is just, “Where should this one go, and how is the brand of Magnolia Network expressed? How do you express this story in the most impactful way to the broadest audience possible?”

You’re also an active member of Women in Cable Telecommunications. What is it about this organization that has fed your passion for it?
When I started at Food Network … I was a manager of programming, and I sat in a cubicle outside [the president’s] office. One day, she was leaving for lunch, and she said, “Hey, what are you doing for lunch? …. I’m going to this luncheon — you should come.” It was a WITC luncheon and I just looked around at all these powerful women who were connecting with each other and identifying opportunity within and through this group. I got really lucky — this was someone saying, “Hey, I’ve got an extra seat at this table. Why don’t you see what’s here?” and I felt like winning the lottery, looking at the commitment to connections and mentorship and just there being a real community as a woman in media, it felt really important and impactful in that moment, and that remains true. I felt lucky to be introduced to it, and lucky to be a part of it, and just grateful it exists.

What advice do you have for young people hoping to get into the industry and eventually be in a similar role as yourself?
I wish I could fast forward in time and listen to what those people will tell us in 20, 30 years.

Knock on every door you possibly can, do not be deterred when it is unopened. Don’t be deterred when it’s open and then shut, and don’t be deterred when it’s open and then you’re directed to a different door. There were all sorts of opportunities that I went after that, again, I couldn’t even get a response. But then there were others where there wasn’t an opportunity, but they knew a producer that might be willing to talk. It was kind of three levels of conversation that I ultimately wound up talking to a producer at “60 Minutes” who said, “Well, my husband works across the street at CBS News productions, and they make biographies for A&E and all sorts of shows for History Channel.” So I wound up talking to them and then working on a documentary series about the history of country music. It was not a linear, direct, straight, short path between looking for what I wound up doing and what I wound up doing. But it was not letting myself get too down about what I wasn’t able to move forward, because, gosh, there was a lot that I couldn’t move forward.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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